Marketing Lessons from Street Artists - A New Act To Keep us Entertained!

It’s a constantly evolving act. The street artists on the corner of a popular shopping street have a new act every time I happen to cross. Sometimes its juggling, sometimes one of them  is walking on the tight-rope, sometimes you find them drawing with their feet and other times singing and dancing.  They have it figured. The group of artists is the same but it’s the new act that makes me stop and watch for a few minutes every time. They are successful in attaining their goal of entertaining and engaging, and thus earning.

Are we as marketers any different from these talented artists? Are our end goals not the same? We wish to keep our customers engaged and delighted, thus adding to our companies' bottom line.

Juggling the balls - Keep the act in motion!

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In our case the balls are synonymous to channels. In our day to day life we are constantly juggling email campaigns, print, PR, social media. These channels need to be active, in the air, at all times and, our undivided attention is absolutely essential to ensure that a ball doesn't drop. When we engage the end customers through one/ two channels, the other channels have to be in prime positions to take over so that boredom does not set in. It is a continuous cycle for connecting and interacting.

Drawing with feet - Do things differently!

Let's admit it - we get more cynical and easily bored with each passing day. Beautiful sketches and hand-drawn cartoons are loosing their charm and the street artist needs a new trick. So he adapts and brings us something new. He draws now with his feet and, he is good. It instantly grabs you and you just have to watch. Similarly, our customers have seen it all - with information easily available and greater transparency prevalent they are more likely to demand for a new trick, a new toy, a new product at a faster pace.   Are we able to meet this demand? What is the new way you will sell your offering? If you have traditionally been using events like a one-to-many seminar format, try smaller group breakfast meets or, even an exclusive weekend getaway for 5-6 of your key prospects. The budget involved would not differ much, while the focus would greatly increase.

Image courtesy of bplanet/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Walking the tight-rope - It's a balancing act!

Keeping a program within budget, while attaining the expected goals can be akin to walking a tight-rope. The need is to study the rope in detail - understand where the rope is rough, where there are chances of it getting frayed. Having budget milestones in place before commencing the marketing program can help one keep on track. However, I have found that keeping a portion of the budget as miscellaneous fund comes in handy as generally activities like events tend to overshoot.

Singing and Dancing - Use the good ole crowd pleasers!

There is always something new in the market. Yesterday it was all about going digital, today miss-call marketing is doing rounds and tomorrow there will be another player in the fray. But the advent of new-age marketing techniques does not mean that print, PR, emails have lost their relevance. Events, like seminars and conferences, will always be the biggest lead generators for a B2B company. Television will always grasp end consumers attention for a B2C brand.

What new acts have you or your organization deployed that have been successful in keeping the crowds entertained? It can even be an old trick in new clothes. Do share.